Scarborough Blasts Israel for Seeking 'Blank Check' from U.S.

4 Aug 2014

Joe Scarborough, that self-described “100% supporter of Israel,” was at it again this morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, ripping Israel for seeking a “blank check” from the U.S.

Taking for granted weekend faulty reports that Israel “killed ten people at a UN school”–the attack was not actually at the school, and had been aimed at military targets–Scarborough fumed at Israeli leaders and at the “most extreme” American supporters of Israel.

Scarborough did note that Israel’s Arab neighbors were standing with it against Hamas, which is unusual. He added that Israel’s western allies were leading the criticism of Israel with “one UN school after another being bombed” indiscriminately [sic].

(Note the contradiction: Scarborough accuses Israel of targeting UN schools on the one hand, and bombing indiscriminately on the other, both of which cannot be true simultaneously.)

Moving on, Scarborough lashed out at “morons attacking me online, saying I’m not pro-Israeli–I’ve been pro-Israeli since a lot of these bloggers were getting their you-know-whats wiped by their mothers in diapers.”

He then went on to argue that the “greatest tragedy” of the conflict was that Israel had reversed Hamas’s previous isolation–mere minutes after observing that most of the Arab world was standing with Israel against Hamas.

After Nicole Wallace pointed out that Hamas had been hiding weapons in UN schools, Scarborough protested that he had acknowledged that Hamas is a terror group and the Israel was acting to defend its citizens.

“That said, if somebody is holding a gun to the head of a five-year-old…Do you shoot through the five-year-old to get Hamas?” (The fact that Hamas is also holding a gun to the heads of Israeli five-year-olds seemed irrelevant.)

In several cases where schools and hospitals have been attacked, Hamas rockets have been to blame. And the fault ultimately lies with Hamas, because the entire reason Israel is at war in the first place is to protect Israeli civilians–often targeted from the very UN schools where Hamas keeps and launches its rockets.

Are such deaths regrettable? Yes. Are they Israel’s fault? In general, no. A “100% supporter” would at least reserve judgment.

Scarborough continued to insist Israel had undermined its own security by rehabilitating Hamas in some way. The reality is that Israeli security has been enhanced by the removal of Hamas’s network of terror tunnels, the depletion of its rockets, and the damage to its image in the Arab world.

U.S. aid, Scarborough insisted, entitles us to “dialogue” with Israel. Of course it does. Hopefully, it will be led by people with a firmer grasp of reality.